Lydia Ko continues to accentuate the positives of a glorious past and forecast an even brighter future ahead of her highly-anticipated debut at the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic

By Kent Gray
The catch cry for Dubai’s annual Ladies European Tour stop like no other is “Time to Shine”. It’s a clever nod to the unique floodlit component of the $285,000 event with Dubai Inc./open for business undertones. And yet the promotional tune could just as easily have been written exclusively for OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic headliner Lydia Ko.

For outsiders looking in, the 23-year-old Korean-born Kiwi is a curious golfing enigma whose career has gone strangely off-piste after a warp-speed and unprecedented rise to stardom.

From the centre of Ko’s universe though, there is nothing puzzling at all about her up and down and slowly up again progression, even if the most eye-catching part of her game in recent years has been the hiring and firing of coaches and caddies at an alarming rate. Publicly at least, the ever-bubbly Ko has always been a glass half-full kind of girl.

As so it is as she eyes her maiden appearance in the Middle East. For most, 2020 will be remembered for nasal swabs, temperature checks, face masks, hand sanitiser and lockdowns. Indeed, if there is one great pity about Ko’s welcomed Dubai debut is that the Moonlight will be played behind closed doors for the first time due to health and safety precautions designed to counter this pesky virus. A talent so rare deserves galleries but Ko has even found a way to put a positive spin on a pandemic.

“While this year has been difficult for everyone in a lot of different ways, I think it is important to take some of the positives away as well,” she said. “For example, I was able to focus on fitness and strength during the unexpected time off and that has translated to results on the golf course.

“[So yes], 2020 has been a tough year but I’m grateful that we still have the opportunity to play during these circumstances. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish this season strong and have a good rest and recovery for a fun 2021 season.”

The way Ko’s game has been trending of late, you wouldn’t discount her trotting off into the off-season with some late silverware from The Faldo at Emirates Golf Club.

When Ko linked with Tiger Woods’ former swing mentor Sean Foley in late July, it was her fifth coach in four years. Good luck trying to keep up with who is on her bag one week from the next as well.

But something seems to have clicked with Foley where it didn’t with others including David Leadbetter. Searching for her first win since the 2018 LPGA Mediheal Championship (where she edged Minjee Lee, another Dubai-bound drawcard, in a playoff), Ko came close to a 16th LPGA Tour win in August with a runner-up finish at the LPGA Marathon Classic. Since then she has gone on to record five more top-20s including 6th place at the ANA Inspiration, one of the women’s games five major championships.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with Sean,” Ko says of their blooming, post-lockdown relationship. “He’s helped me to clear out some questions in my head and really keep it simple for me. I feel like I get great energy from just being around him.”

Foley played the mutual appreciation game in a recent social media post following a focus on Ko’s short game.

“Lydia said out of the bunker she is either amazing or terrible. When I hear something like that it’s not mental it’s technical. We worked on getting much more square to the target, utilising the clubs loft/bounce on the backswing with a longer backswing, and then really focusing on the speed and take over rate through the sand. As well, we hit many shots off of uneven lies because we have to make slight adjustments due to slope, lies and type of sand,” Foley explained.

Foley noticed improvements immediately. “It became insanely good as soon as she UNDERSTOOD the MATH and the WHY. Technique + Talent is undefeated,” he wrote.

“This woman has incredible skill.”

To be fair, there has always been plenty of positives to accentuate when it comes to Ko’s career. You’d almost need an entire magazine to list them all but how about becoming the youngest winner of a women’s major championship at 18 after becoming the youngest ever world No.1 – male or female – at 17 years, nine months and nine days. Before that she become the youngest amateur at 14 to win a pro title and the first amateur ever to capture two LPGA titles en-route to 130 weeks at the summit of the amateur world rankings.  There was a silver medal from Rio at golf’s reintroduction to the Olympic Games, a place in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people list and even a Government gong last year when she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to golf.

From the outside looking in again, it seems the two-time major champion has perhaps done it all and lost her mojo because she has nothing left to prove. Wrong again.

Yes, at this stage, Ko intends sticking to her guns and retiring at 30. But that leaves plenty of runway to achieve some still very ambitious objectives.

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“My biggest goal is to do the career grand slam, especially as not many people have done it before. The more times I put myself in contention at the majors the more opportunity I’ll be able to have to do it.”

And perhaps a Toyko gold to go with that Rio silver, all being equal in the world?

“I certainly hope so. I will be able to draw upon some great experience from 2016. Hopefully I can keep my game in top form heading into Tokyo.”

Which brings us back to the present and her improved showing of late. The trick in Dubai will be quickly getting up to speed with the invariably grainy greens on The Faldo, especially under the bright but initially challenging LEDs.

“I have never played under the lights but am really looking forward to it. Visually it will be a bit different, and I will really need to trust my swing and my numbers to play well.

“But I have been playing well for the past few months and feel confident in how I am hitting the ball. I am looking forward to Dubai and hopefully a strong finish to the year.”

Just as fans will be restricted to watching Ko and co. on telly (Dubai Sports Channel), the U.S.-based Kiwi won’t be able to explore the UAE quite as freely as she had first anticipated. She does hope to give the Hatta zipline a whirl and that it won’t be her last visit to the region either. It’s much like her golf career. Exceptional early and far from done.

“It does take a bit of getting used to,” Ko says of the spotlight that has followed her from her amateur days in Auckland. “But I have always tried to stay positive no matter the situation. Regardless of spotlight, I need to be true to myself. I just need to be the best version of myself.”

So far, so good.